[Shop-talk] attic fan switches (does this exist?)

[Peter Murray]

My solution is to have a switch in-line with the thermostat, in our
upstairs hallway. When I don't want to hear the fan at 11pm, I switch it
off.

My fan in my attic has the standard mechanical thermostat that came with
it. I think I set it a hair too low, or the hysteresis is too broad,
because it'll still be running at 11pm. Then again, we've had 27+ days of
90+ here in Northern Virginia. It is nearly 11am here now and 89 degrees,
and the fan is not on yet. (Hmm, did I turn the switch back on?)

I know, Pat's heart bleeds for me.

I like the idea of making operation of the fan a bit more sophisticated,
but writing Arduino code is likely more than my wife, 3 kids under 8 and
self-employment will allow. I'm looking at Home Assistant and some Z-Wave
devices, but need to do more research before I start spending on hardware.

The problem I'd had was that I wanted the fan to run to reduce melting when
we had ice dams developing at the roof edge. Of course, the proper solution
is to improve my insulation up there!

-Peter

On Thu, Jul 30, 2020 at 10:18 AM Pat Horne <patintexas at icloud.com> wrote:

> I’m not familiar with x-10 but I assume you will be using like a
> controller for a table lamp where the output is a socket. If you have a
> controller with isolated contacts it’s even easier.
>
> If you want the x-10 to override  the thermostat so that the fan runs
> until you turn it off, all you need to do plug a relay into the controller
> & wire its normally open contacts across the thermostat.
>
> Peace,
> Pat
>
> Pat Horne
> We support Habitat for Humanity
>
>
> On Jul 30, 2020, at 5:34 AM, eric at megageek.com wrote:
>
> I have an attic fan that is on a thermostatic switch.
>
> I was wondering if there was a way that I can have it on a  thermostatic
> switch AND a remote switch (like X-10)
>
> What happens is that  I want to turn on the fan on some nights or days,
> but it isn't hot enough to trigger it to go off.  If I reduce the
> temperature setting, it stays on most on the time.
>
> But I do want it to go on if it gets too hot when I'm not home.
>
> Is there anything like this on the market?  I also couldn't figure out how
> to wire 2 separate switches safely to accomplish this.
>
> Any ideas?
>
> Thanks.
>
> Mule
>
> "Be as beneficent as the sun or the sea, but if your rights as a rational
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